Contents

Description

Design

The Futo is based on the 1984-1987 AE86 Toyota Corolla Levin GT-Apex Coupe (Probably why it is called 'Futo' as Toyota is a Japanese make of vehicle and Futo is a Japanese word) and the front, some parts, the shape and the paintjob in a 1983-1985 Nissan Skyline DR30 RS Turbo. The badging on the side ("N/A Inline 20v RWD", subtitled with "Quad Throttle Body", "High Performance Injection", and "Limited Slip Differential") indicates that it is equipped with a 20-valve engine, akin to Toyota's 4A-GE 1.6L Black or Silvertop engine (this engine did not actually appear until 1991; however, it was a popular modification for the AE86), and is configured with a rear wheel drive with a limited slip differential (possibly contributing to the car's excellent handling). It is much more powerful than the normal 16 valve 4A-GE equipped in the AE86 during its production.

The car is very well detailed, from the interior to the individual throttle bodies and the RS Watanabe F8 wheel option (likely in reference to the popular Watanabe RS wheels for the AE86 Corolla and the Skyline DR30). It even has a different tread design for its tires, ones that well suit asphalt racing and drifting. These tires are found on much higher end cars such as the Sentinel XS and the Super GT. The interior door panels have "FUTO" repeatedly in a pattern on the fabric. And the engine has FUTO written on it too.

The Futo is powered by a naturally-aspirated 1.4-litre inline-4 engine, with five valves per cylinder and a five-speed manual gearbox in a rear-wheel drive configuration. Acceleration is this car's party piece, getting to 60 mph in just 6.6 seconds. The top speed is astonishing for a car of this stature, achieving 165 mph (265 km/h). The chassis is firm and taut, giving the Futo stability at high speeds. The suspension is firm but not too firm, keeping the Futo flat in banked corners and stable in the S-curves, while still giving a firm, yet enjoyable ride.

Couple the excellent suspension setup with the short wheelbase and you get a fantastically chuckable little pocket rocket, capable of competing with full-on sports cars. The brakes are sensitive and effective, and front-wheel lock-up is not a big issue compared to other vehicles; however, ABS is not available and so a little finesse will be needed with the brake to stop lockup. Due to no ABS braking can be extremely dangerous in the rain. The Futo handles well off-road and can reach about 75% of its top speed on dirt roads and beaches, and grip is impressive even with rear wheel drive, while others of the same drive may fishtail easily. Crash deformation is above average, though build quality is sub-par, often leaving the Futo disabled after just a few accidents.

All in all the Futo is great fun to drive, and makes an excellent escape or pursuit vehicle in missions. It is also an ideal car to drift since it is a light weight, front engine rear wheel drive car and is a very easy car to be put into one. The only possible disadvantages during a pursuit or escape is that the vehicle is small, lacking the power to move other vehicles, and only has two doors, rather than four.

Specifications

Buoyancy 85% (how much of the vehicle is emerged in water, which equals to how much time you have to get out and how deep is safe to drive in before risking the car floating and therefore, lost).
Max Steering angle (the higher the better) is 35 degrees.
Stat Value is 14000 (when blown up, this is how many points are awarded in the Total Property Destroyed. It can be the numbers Rockstar has made to be its real sale value).

Variants

Futo GT

A modified variant of the Futo is driven by the Albanian Mob, and, as a result, can be commonly found in Little Bay.
The GT can also rarely be found in other areas of Bohan.

The so-called "GT" variant (referred as such from the "GT" badge on the front grill) features a small body kit, a rear boot lip spoiler, a carbon-fiber hood, a roll cage, a strut bar mounted over the engine, a racing seat on the driver's side, an upgraded speed/torque gauge, and an additional "Inline 20v" badge under the right side rear light, a larger, blue titanium exhaust tip, an offset driver's side front license plate and finally a red tow clip, similar to those used on track cars on the passenger side of the front bumper.

The game still refers to the car simply as the Futo when the player enters it, and its performance is almost identical to the stock car's. The Futo GT is only seen in red and black (it looks like the Skyline), but can be resprayed any color. This may be because the car that the Futo is based on, (Toyota AE86 Levin and Nissan Skyline DR30 RS-Turbo), has also a GT model as well as an SR model.

Although these Futos are distinct from typical models, all Futos have "Futo GT" written on the interior of the doors, presumably to save texture memory.

In GTA V, The side skirt upgrade at Los Santos Customs will also add the "Inline 20V" badging under the right rear light, just like the Futo GT in GTA IV.

Trivia

After collecting all thirty cars for Stevie, he agrees to purchase cars from Niko, with the Futo fetching $1,400.

The car is a creation of Mike Bush, an American vehicle designer for Rockstar UK, and an AE86 enthusiast.

The name "Futo" is a diminutive of the working file name during production, dorifuto, a Japanese word for drift.

Futos are used in the Gang Wars, but these come with different modifications.

A popular color scheme for the AE86 was black bumpers, spoiler, wheel (excluding the outer rim), and a black carbon fiber hood, with everything else white. The player can get a Futo GT and respray it until it has that color scheme. It bears a resemblance to a Sprinter TRUENO.

Due to a texture glitch, if the front windshield is damaged (usually after the car has rolled over multiple times), the windshield may suddenly turn white and lack texture, and you can't see through it. This glitch is also present in the Willard.

The Futo is the only Karin branded car with the K logo on the left corner bottom in the hood.

"Futo" is also an anagram made from the word tofu, which could be a reference to the anime that boosted up the AE86's popularity, Initial D; in the anime, the main character uses an AE86 as a tofu delivery car and a touge racer.

When customizing the Futo, the player can find a brand of rims named "Fujiwara". This makes a reference to the Anime Initial D, wich popularized the AE86. Fujiwara is the surname of the main Initial D protagonist, known as Takumi Fujiwara. The rims are very similar to the ones used in the Initial D´s AE86.

There are burnt out wrecks in rural areas that look similar to the Futo; these wrecks are of four door design however, and sport a different grill, but the chassis, rear facade, and headlights are all markedly similar. This could've been a beta Futo.

Modifications (GTA V)

The Futo is a highly modifiable car and has all the standard performance modifications, plus: